Insect repellant barrier

ABSTRACT

An elongate insect repellant barrier for application to the exterior of a building. The barrier is formed of a backing extending in a substantially vertical direction when applied to the exterior of a building, a bottom surface extending from the backing, and a lip formed along the front edge thereof. The backing, bottom surface and lip form a trough along the length of the barrier, and an upper angled surface slopes downwardly from the backing and extends outwardly from the backing to overhang the lip along the length of the elongate barrier. The trough is filled with a mixture of mineral oil, or other light oil, and water, from which crawling insects attempting to enter the building fall as they reach the top of the lip on the front edge of the elongate member and are unlikely to escape, and the overhanging angled surface protects the oil and water mixture in the trough from being affected by ambient weather conditions.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/874,156, filed Dec. 12, 2006, which related patent application ishereby incorporated in its entirety by this specific reference thereto.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a barrier that is applied or installedto a building or other structure for repelling entry of insects into thebuilding or structure. In more detail, the present invention relates toa barrier that is applied to the outside of the building that trapscrawling insects attempting to enter the building along the buildingfoundation.

In today's environmentally conscious world, it is no longer acceptableto repel insects from, for instance, building interiors by applyingincreasing amounts of stronger chemicals. Such chemicals requireperiodic re-application, further increasing their impact on theenvironment and even the health and safety of those who apply suchchemicals and those who live and/or work in the buildings to which theyare applied.

At the same time, and for some of the same reasons, stringentgovernmental controls for both the composition of chemical insectrepellants and for methods of application of chemical insect repellantsincrease the cost of traditional insect repellant chemicals such thatsuch methods are not as economical as in years past. For similarreasons, so far as is known, there are no safe and efficacious insectrepellants that can be applied by the “do-it-yourself” home and/orbusiness owner. Nor are there any known insect repellant methods ortreatments that can be applied to a building or structure once, withoutrepeated applications (and repeated cost).

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide anenvironmentally-friendly insect barrier for application or installationon buildings or other structures.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a barrier that iseasily and quickly applied to the exterior of a building or otherstructure for trapping insects, especially crawling insects, that wouldotherwise enter the building or other structure.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus thatis effective in repelling insects from the interior of buildings orother structures.

Another object of the present invention is to effectively repel insectsfrom buildings or other structures without the need for re-applicationof toxic or harmful chemicals.

Similarly, it is an object of the present invention to provide anapparatus that is effective at repelling insects even after longexposure to ambient weather conditions, including heat, cold, andmoisture.

Other objects, and the many advantages of the present invention, will bemade clear to those skilled in the art in the following detaileddescription of the preferred embodiment(s) of the invention and thedrawings appended hereto. Those skilled in the art will recognize,however, that the embodiment(s) of the present invention that aredescribed herein are only examples of specific embodiment(s), set outfor the purpose of describing the making and using of the presentinvention, and that the embodiment(s) shown and/or described herein arenot the only embodiment(s) of method performed in accordance with theteachings of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention meets the above-described objects by providing anelongate member adapted for mounting to the exterior of a building orother structure. The elongate member is formed with a cross-sectionalshape comprised of a backing extending in a substantially verticaldirection when said member is applied to the exterior of a building, abottom surface extending substantially horizontally from the backing andhaving a lip formed along the front edge thereof, the backing, bottomsurface and lip forming a trough along the length of the elongatemember, and an upper angled surface sloped downwardly from the backingand extending outwardly from the backing to overhang the lip along thelength of the elongate member. The trough is filled with a mixture ofmineral oil, or other light oil, and water, from which crawling insectsattempting to enter the building fall as they reach the top of the lipon the front edge of the elongate member and are unlikely to escape, andthe overhanging angled surface protects the oil and water mixture in thetrough from being affected by ambient weather conditions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the figures, FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic sectional view ofa presently preferred embodiment of the insect repellant barrier of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

Referring now to FIG. 1, a preferred embodiment of the present inventionis illustrated and will be described in detail. The insect repellantbarrier is indicated generally in FIG. 1 at reference numeral 10, and isapplied to the foundation or an exterior wall of a building or otherstructure, the concrete slab 12 of a building being shown in FIG. 1 at apoint above ground level 14. As known in the art, the building or otherstructure is provided with an interior wall 16 with the exterior brick,siding, or other facing being shown at reference numeral 18. Afterremoving any dirt the extends up the side of the slab 12 from groundlevel 14 and cleaning the exterior surface of slab 12 to which barrier10 is to be applied, the barrier 10 is adhered to concrete slab 12 witha bead of caulk or building adhesive. A silicone caulk is preferred forthis purpose because of the durability and water repellant capabilitiesof that material and, although as described below, barrier 10 ispreferably made of a material that flexes and therefore follows thecontour of the exterior surface of slab 12, it may also be advantageousto fill any cracks or voids in the exterior surface of slab 12 withcaulk or other material as known in the construction arts to provide asmooth surface to which barrier 10 is adhered and to seal the exteriorof slab 12 against barrier 10. As shown in FIG. 1, two beads, or rows,20 of caulk provide satisfactory adherence to slab 12, but as set outbelow, the exterior surface of barrier 10 is preferably provided with abead of caulk to provide a weather seal that also seals the barrier 10against slab 12 such that those skilled in the art will recognize thatbarrier 10 can also be applied to the exterior surface of slab 12 usingmasonry screws or other conventional fasteners known in the art, hencethe use of the term “applied” herein for characterizing the relationshipbetween barrier 10 and slab 12. If masonry screws or other fasteners areutilized to apply barrier 10 to slab 12, it is important that the screwsbe inserted through barrier 10 near the top and that each screw hole besealed with caulk so that the oil-water mixture 22 (see below) does notleak through the screw holes and to insure an effective barrier againstcrawling insects.

In applying barrier 10 to slab 12, it is important that the barrier,which is applied so that it extends around the perimeter of the entirebuilding, be level. Further, barrier 10 is comprised of aluminum, vinylor other polymeric plastic, or other material that is seamed and/orsealed in accordance with techniques known in the construction industryfor, for instance, installation of gutters. For instance, if barrier 10is comprised of vinyl, scrap pieces may be used with PVC cement tocomplete the barrier in accordance with known techniques around bothinterior and exterior corners of the building supported on slab 12.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the structure of barrier 10 will now bedescribed in detail. Barrier 10 is formed from an elongate member thatis comprised of a backing 24 that is substantially vertical when barrier10 is properly applied to slab 12. A bottom surface 26 extends frombacking 24 and, although shown as being substantially horizontal in FIG.1, there is no requirement that the bottom surface 26 extend at a rightangle from the backing 24, or even that the bottom surface 26 be flat.The present invention contemplates, for instance, that the bottomsurface may extend at an angle other than 90° from the backing 24 for,for instance, application of barrier 10 to surfaces that are notvertical and/or that, in the alternative, the bottom surface 26 may becurved to form a gutter (not shown). The front edge of bottom surface 26is provided with a lip 28 that extends along the length of elongatebacking 24, and lip 28, bottom surface 26, and backing 24 form a trough30 that likewise extends along the length of backing 24 that is, asdescribed below, at least partially filled with an oil-water mixture 22.

As shown at reference numeral 32, the top edge 34 of backing 24 isprovided with an angled surface sloped downwardly from backing 24 andextending outwardly from backing 24 to overhang lip 28 that extendsalong the length of backing 24. As will be apparent from FIG. 1, thecombination of the downward slope and overhang of angled surface 32provides effective protection of trough 30, having the oil-water mixture22 therein, against the entry of ambient moisture, dirt, and otherelements; angled surface 32 provides a second function as set out inmore detail below. Although not shown in FIG. 1, and not necessarilyrequired for effective sealing against environmental conditions andcrawling insects, the top edge 34 of backing 24 may be sealed againstthe exterior surface of slab 12 by a bead of caulk that is applied atthe juncture of the exterior of the top edge 34 and slab 12.

The trough 30 formed by lip 28, bottom surface 26 and backing 24 thatextends along the length of barrier 10 is at least partially filled witha mixture of oil and water so that insects that crawl up the exterior ofand over lip 28 fall into the mixture 22 and are trapped therein. Anycrawling insects that do manage to escape from the oil-water mixture 22in trough 30 can only exit trough 30 from the front over lip 28, keepingthem away from slab 12, or up the backing 24. Of course insects that docrawl up backing 24 encounter angled surface 32 and, if the insectcrawls along the underside of angled surface 32 without falling backinto oil-water mixture 22, the insect next encounters the overhangingfront edge 36 of angled surface 32. The overhanging front edge 36provides another difficult passage from a crawling insect such that thelikelihood of the insect being able to navigate from the underside ofangled surface 32, around front edge 36, and then onto the outside, ortop, of the angled surface 32 of barrier 10 is small enough that barrier10 acts to effectively exclude such insects from the interior of thebuilding supported by slab 12.

In a presently preferred embodiment, the oil-water mixture 22 is amixture of mineral oil and water, mineral oil being preferred for itsready availability, low cost, and resistance to breakdown. Water ispreferably added to trough 30 to a depth of about a quarter of an inchand the oil is then preferably added to the top of the water to act as a“cap” to reduce evaporation of water from trough 30. Those skilled inthe art will recognize that even with the oil “cap,” it will benecessary to check and replenish the water in trough 30 periodically,and also that oils other than mineral oil may be used to advantage inconnection with the insect repellant barrier of the present invention.Although it is important that the oil be relatively inflammable, otheroils that may be utilized include essential (preferably mixed with aresin), vegetable (for instance, inedible oils such as palm or coconutoil), and fat-derived (tallow or fish oil, for instance) oils, butmineral oils are preferred because of their resistance to breakdown ofthe organic molecules. The oil in oil-water mixture 22 provides theadded benefit of wetting the exterior of the body of a crawling insectthat falls into trough 30, increasing the likelihood that the insectwill not escape.

Those skilled in the art who have the benefit of this disclosure willalso recognize that certain changes can be made to the component partsof the insect repellant barrier of the present invention withoutchanging the manner in which those component parts function and/orinteract to achieve their intended result. All such changes, and othersthat will be clear to those skilled in the art from this description ofthe preferred embodiment(s) of the invention, are intended to fallwithin the scope of the following, non-limiting claims.

1. An insect repellant barrier adapted for application to a building orother structure comprising: an elongate backing extending in asubstantially vertical direction when said applied to the exterior of abuilding; a bottom surface extending from said backing and having a lipformed along the front edge thereof, said backing, bottom surface andlip forming a trough along the length of said elongate backing; and anupper angled surface sloped downwardly from said backing and extendingoutwardly from said backing to overhang said lip along the length ofsaid elongate backing.
 2. The insect repellant barrier of claim 1additionally comprising an oil-water mixture contained within thetrough.
 3. The insect repellant barrier of claim 1 wherein said upperangled surface additionally comprises a front edge extending along thelength thereof.
 4. The insect repellant barrier of claim 1 wherein saidelongate backing is applied to the exterior of a building by an adhesivethat seals between said backing and the exterior of the building.
 5. Theinsect repellant barrier of claim 1 wherein said elongate backing issubstantially level when applied to the exterior of the building.